WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) – Jamaican-American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette Clarke has written to United States President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging an end to the oil blockades imposed on Cuba.

In the letter, Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), appeals to the Trump administration to “relieve the economic pressure on the island, which has led to an increase in infant mortality rates, the threat of starvation, and a declining standard of living for innocent Cuban civilians.

“Under the administration’s oil blockade and tightening of sanctions, Cubans are dying,” said Clarke, who represents the predominantly 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York.